Roseanne Chicken Shirt Returns as Cast Watches New Show Opening

There are TV revivals. And then there's Roseanne. The hit ABC sitcom is coming back after more than twenty years off the air. And to say fans are excited is an understatement. The once and future domestic goddess has been offering some cool teases from the set as production continues. And today, we get to watch the crew as they watch the new Revival opening for the first time. We don't actually get to see the opening ourselves. But we are treated to one very cool Easter egg that is sure to make Roseanne fans smile.

Roseanne and her on-screen daughter, co-star Sara Gilbert, are seen gathered around with the cast and crew as they watch the opening for the first time. And truthfully, everyone looks great. There is a nifty 'no social media' sign on the wall, which keeps spy photos from leaking out. But it was Roseanne herself who shared this sneak peek from the set.

Normally it wouldn't be all that exciting to watch people watching a monitor. But look at what Roseanne is wearing. It's the infamous chicken shirt. And if you didn't already know, this article of clothing from the old 80s wardrobe has quite a lot of history behind it.

It's one Easter egg that actually features an egg. Roseanne loved the shirt so much, it often appeared in several episodes. Though Tom Arnold hated the shirt. And when he was serving as a producer and writer on the series, the shirt was banned. After their divorce, Roseanne started to use the shirt in every episode from then on out.

Every cast member has worn the shirt at some point over the course of Roseanne's original run, with the show debuting in October 1988 and ending nearly a decade later in 1997. There is even an episode where everyone in the cast wore the shirt during that particular episode. Airing May 1993, in Daughters and Other Strangers, the shirt is first spotted on Roseanne as she cleans Darlene's room. In the next scene, Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) walks in the living room wearing it. Darlene (Sara Gilbert) enters the kitchen in the next scene in the same shirt. Afterwards, D.J. (Michael Fishman) sits with Dan (John Goodman) at the kitchen table, also in the shirt. As the credits roll, Dan can be seen sitting on the couch next to Roseanne wearing the now infamous Chicken Shirt. It appears to be the same shirt, as it fits Roseanne, is too large on Jackie and Darlene, enormous on D.J., and just a little tight on Dan.

If it didn't get worn during an episode, Roseanne was seen taking it out of the wash, folding it, or displaying it in the background of a bedroom scene. There is even an episode where she frames the shirt for her unborn grandchild and hangs it on the wall, stopping to admire it.

There is no inherent meaning behind the chicken shirt, even though fans have long believed it to have some extra meaning beyond an irritant for Tom Arnold. The chicken shirt first made its appearance in Season 2. It's not until the Season 5 DVD set was released though that Roseanne gave any kind of definite answer about the shirt, which was the second most asked question in regards to the iconic sitcom. She says this.

"The chicken shirt, it was just the ugliest shirt I ever saw and we had this bet between us, the actors; if you show something really bad on TV it takes off. It was like another rebellious artistic statement, that it looks like art when it's on TV."